Previously on Cord Cutter Weekly …

Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are great at delivering on-demand video, but sometimes you don’t want to pick from an endless list of movies and TV shows. For this type of lean-back, passive viewing, you’ll want a video app that has some kind of ‘round-the-clock streaming element, so you can start watching with minimal effort.

After months of hype with little substance, AT&T has launched DirecTV Now, a bundle of streaming channels that will compete with Dish’s Sling TV and Sony’s PlayStation Vue.

Nothing’s more important than app selection when you’re shopping for a streaming TV device. Without access to the streaming services you require, it doesn’t matter what kind of fancy features are included in the box.

With HDMI-CEC, streaming boxes such as Apple TV and Roku can control your television’s power, volume, and input, making additional remotes unnecessary.

Apple’s $150 streaming box isn’t a bad product, but it faces the same fundamental challenge as other streaming boxes: With so many apps competing for users’ attention, managing and sorting through them all can be a chore.

AT&T made some waves this week when it announced that its upcoming DirecTV Now streaming bundle would cost just $35 per month for 100 channels. Still, AT&T won’t be alone in trying to bring more TV bundles to the Internet.

As online video transitions from “skinny” bundles to more standalone streaming services, you might wish for a way to bundle them all under one bill—kind of like you did with cable. Streaming platforms from Apple, Amazon, Google, and Roku are best-suited for this new type of bundling.

The Roku Express is currently the cheapest streaming device on the market at just $30. Unfortunately, it makes several compromises to get there, including a sluggish processor, no dual-band Wi-Fi, and an IR remote that requires line-of-sight to the box.

It turns out some folks at Roku read last week’s column about how the quality of its streaming video apps is falling behind other platforms.

Roku is no longer the primary destination for some major content providers such as PlayStation Vue and Twitter, and when those providers do get around to supporting Roku, the quality of their apps doesn’t match other platforms.